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Thursday, March 19, 2015

FINALS UPDATE:Empire was separated into two hours in the finals, each of which adjusted up a tenth (6.1/6.9). Survivor (2.3) and Arrow (0.9) were also up while Supernatural (0.6) was down.

The two-hour finale of Empire produced one last night of big growth; it averaged 16.5 million viewers and a 6.4 A18-49 rating. These were both up by about 10% from the previous series highs set last week, and further upward adjustments seem likely. The show started at last week's number (5.8) in the 8:00 half-hour and grew as high as a whooping 6.9 (in other words, very close to normal The Walking Dead territory) by the end.

The only networks that went original vs. Empire were CBS, where Survivor had a very respectable 2.2 for a two hour episode, and the CW, where Arrow (0.8) took a sizable hit and Supernatural (0.7) had an OK but low-end transition to Wednesday.

In the 10:00 hour, CSI: Cyber (1.4) had a disheartening week three drop with a lead-in that was no weaker than last week's Criminal Minds but likely less compatible. And ABC made some real noise with a The Sound of Music-themed special (1.4) that basically tied normal Nashville numbers. I'd say Empire served as a de facto lead-in for this thing, but the skews suggest they had extremely different audiences. (For example, the ABC special had almost exactly as many 50+ viewers as Empire!)

FULL TABLE:

Info

Show

Timeslot

True

A18-49

Skew

Last

LeLa

Rank

y2y

TLa

Ty2y

The Middle (R)

1.2

30%

+0%

-14%

1.5

The Goldbergs (R)

1.3

37%

+8%

+8%

1.8

Modern Family (R)

1.5

35%

+0%

-17%

1.8

Black-ish (R)

1.3

37%

-13%

+8%

1.6

The Untold Story of the Sound of Music

1.4

24%

n/a

+115%

+115%

1.7

ABC:

+21%

+17%

Survivor

2.3

30%

+5%

+0.1

n/a

2/4

-8%

+8%

-3%

2.5

CSI: Cyber

1.4

22%

-18%

-0.3

+0.2

3/3

n/a

-20%

-28%

1.5

CBS:

+0%

-10%

The Mysteries of Laura (R)

0.6

17%

-20%

-52%

1.0

Law and Order: SVU (R)

0.8

21%

+7%

-48%

1.3

Chicago PD (R)

0.9

27%

+0%

-36%

1.3

NBC:

-4%

-45%

Empire

6.1

49%

+5%

+0.3

n/a

1/11

n/a

+160%

+184%

5.8

Empire

6.9

50%

+13%

+0.8

n/a

1/12

n/a

+19%

+200%

5.3

Fox:

+60%

+192%

Arrow

0.9

45%

-18%

-0.2

n/a

12/16

+13%

+157%

+6%

1.0

Supernatural

0.6

44%

-25%

-0.2

-0.6

15/15

-33%

+50%

-33%

0.6

CW:

+100%

-14%

Big5:

+36%

+44%

KEY (click to expand)

A18-49 - Adults 18-49 rating. Percentage of US TV-owning adults 18-49 watching the program.Skew - Percentage of adults 18-49 within the show's total viewership.Last - A18-49 difference (percent and numerical) from the show's previous episode.LeLa - A18-49 difference between the show's lead-in and its lead-in for the previous episode.Rank - The A18-49 rating's rank among the show's episodes so far this season.y2y - Percent difference between A18-49 and the show's rating a year ago.TLa - Percent difference between A18-49 and the network's rating in the timeslot one week ago.Ty2y - Percent difference between A18-49 and the network's rating in the timeslot one year ago.True - A metric that adjusts the A18-49 rating for overall viewing levels, competition and lead-in. PRELIMINARY CALCULATION. For finals, see SpotVault.